Around 800 jobs could be lost at BAE's Glasgow yards if the UK Government backslides on orders to build frigates in the city, a union has warned.

GMB said the weapons manufacturer had told union representatives of a "worst-case scenario" which would lead to as much as 20% of work on the Type-26 ships being outsourced from the upper Clyde over the lifetime of the contract

The union, which campaigned for a No vote in the 2014 independence referendum, is now seeking to open talks with the UK Government over the future of the yards in Scotstoun and Govan.

Gary Smith, GMB Scotland secretary, said: "This would be a total betrayal of the upper Clyde workforce by a desperate Tory government trying to shift the goalposts in the face of their failing economic stewardship.

"We've gone from the upper Clyde workforce being promised the manufacture of 13 Type-26 frigates in 2014, for that to be cut to eight frigates last year.

"We've gone from promised investment that would secure thousands of skilled jobs and hundreds of apprenticeships for a generation, only to be told to prepare for redundancies.

"In the same week that Scottish unemployment increased by 20,000, the prospect of significant job losses at Govan and Scotstoun doesn't even bear thinking about - it could tip our economy over the edge.

"GMB Scotland rejects this typically ruinous Tory agenda and we will resist any redundancies or withdrawal of work on the upper Clyde by using every tool we have at our disposal."

A BAE Systems spokesman said: "Following the strategic defence and security review, we are working with the Ministry of Defence to agree a revised baseline for the Type 26 ships and a production schedule for the two additional Offshore Patrol Vessels in Glasgow.

"We are engaging our trades unions as we work through this process. Our focus is to deliver the capability the Royal Navy needs, while ensuring the best value for UK taxpayers."

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